We cannot love and serve two masters (Matthew 6:24-34). We can be sure that, apart from Christ, even the material possessions of life give no lasting joy or pleasure. It is good to have the things money can buy, provided we do not lose the things that money cannot buy....
There is a real sense in which the Christian must be separated from “the world”—and by that term, I mean “society without God.” As the children of God, we are in the world physically but not of the world spiritually. We are sent into the world to let our lights...
Remember that hypocrisy robs us of reality in Christian living. We substitute reputation for character, mere words for true prayer, money for the devotion of the heart. No wonder Jesus compared the Pharisees to tombs that were whitewashed on the outside but filthy on the inside! Hypocrisy not only robs...
Phillips Brooks said, “The great purpose of life—the shaping of character by truth.” Godly character and conduct are far more important than golf trophies or home-run records, though it is possible for a person to have both. Paul challenged Timothy to be as devoted to godliness as an athlete is...
You do not become patient and persevering by reading a book (even this one) or listening to a lecture. You have to suffer. What were the believers in Thessalonica enduring? Paul used several words in 2 Thessalonians 1 to describe their situation: persecutions, which means “attacks from without,” or “trials”;...
In justification, God declares the believing sinner righteous; He does not make him righteous. Before the sinner trusts Christ, he stands guilty before God; but the moment he trusts Christ, he is declared not guilty and he can never be called guilty again! Justification is not simply “forgiveness,” because a...
The people of Israel in Moses’ day failed to claim their promised inheritance and thus were forced to wander about aimlessly in the wilderness. It is impossible to stand still in the Christian life; we either go forward and claim God’s blessing, or we go backward and flounder without a...
The writer of Psalm 73, Asaph, was able to evaluate time in the light of eternity and earth in the light of heaven. He looked at godless people and said, “They have more than heart could wish” (v. 7). But later he reverses that conclusion and realizes that because he...